Hannah and the Clone

I'm sure many of you are aware of the clone wars that have ensued recently between the American Quarter Horse Association and owners/breeders of cloned horses. If not, you can read about it here, but it brought back memories of my own sport horse clone encounter.

Shortly after being weaned, my homebred Hannah went to live in the big back field at my trainer's north Houston area farm. Although not a breeder himself, he happened to have three similar-aged weanlings in his care that year and suggested turning Hannah out with them to mature physically and socially. In this baby herd were two tall, outgoing bays bred for future show jumping stardom. Then there was flashy chestnut Hannah and her liver chestnut buddy Gem--the more passive runts of the pasture that quickly bonded. The two of them were always in tandem, and calling Hannah to the fenceline for a neck scratch or a carrot meant doing the same for Gem.

Hannah, Gemini, and one of their bigger bay pasturemates in Texas.

Photo: Alexandra Beckstett

Giving Hannah a pet or a treat inevitably meant doing the same for Gemini.

Photo: Alexandra Beckstett

One day, the barn manager off-handedly referred to them as "Hannah and the clone," causing my eyebrows to go up. The clone?

"Yeah, didn't you know? That's Gemini, the Gem Twist clone," he said.

Apparently New Jersey-based breeder and trainer Frank Chapot, who had the world champion show jumper successfully cloned in 2008, was a long-time buddy of my trainer's. Surreptitiously, he sent the weanling clone to Texas to do the same thing I was doing with Hannah--throw him in a field with other youngsters for a while to mature. Other reasons likely included keeping the high-profile foal out of the public eye. My trainer talked about having Gem in the back field as if it was some big secret, and maybe it was.

Nevertheless, I was both shocked and awed by my discovery. Shocked because I never would have guessed this gangly brown colt was the genetic replica of the stunning gray champion; awed because here I was nonchalantly feeding carrots to a piece of equine history.

Several months later, Gemini headed back north to Chapot's New Jersey farm. Hannah showed obvious signs of separation anxiety, but as a low-ranking herd member she quickly joined forces with the other two weanlings and was no worse for the wear.

That was five years ago, and I've since read stories and seen photos of Gemini starting to gray, learning to jump, and siring his own offspring. His adorable little face hasn't changed much, however.

About the Author

Alexandra

Alexandra Beckstett, Managing Editor of The Horse and a native of Houston, Texas, is a lifelong horse owner who has shown successfully on the national hunter/jumper circuit and dabbled in hunter breeding.

Comments

The views expressed in the posts and comments of this blog do not necessarily reflect those of The Horse or Blood-Horse Publications. They should be understood as the personal opinions of the author. All readers are encouraged to leave comments; all points of view are welcome, but comments that are discourteous and/or off-topic may be removed.

Watch your toes because I'm one of those people strongly against cloning. In part, it's too much akin to horse theft. Some person with deep pockets didn't have the guts to produce an honest horse by selective breeding so they just stole one in the form of a clone. No doubt the original was produced by carefully choosing a stallion and mare. How can there be any glory in owning or showing a stolen horse?

L

23 Oct 2013 7:12 PM

I got to pet Peron's nose while he was at Hilltop Farm - what a thrill to be so close to a "dressage star"! It doesn't take much... ;) In regards to cloning, if someone has the money and the will, have at it. There's so much more to creating a top horse in his discipline than genetics. Yes, it's the first part of the picture, but frankly I think the training, management and human/horse team have far more weight in producing a great horse. Not to mention that a clone is not the same horse psychologically. But, to each his own.

Allison

24 Oct 2013 7:37 AM

Of course, you have a valid point. Handling, socialization and training will certainly make a difference in the end product. But, the clone is still another person's original effort.

I had the idea to obtain a certain type of horse. Couldn't find exactly what I wanted and decided to produce one. I searched through hundreds of stallions and thousands of mares over several years to find exactly what I wanted with the desired conformation, disposition and pedigree. I'm pleased with MY "custom ordered" filly. She's perfectly balanced, agile, intelligent and has a calm disposition.

My dream of producing exactly what I wanted has taken years of planning and waiting. I wouldn't appreciate someone stealing my specific idea via cloning, not while I'm alive.

L

24 Oct 2013 11:22 AM

Considering that full siblings-- and even twins-- can turn out far different from each other, I have a hard time buying the "cloning is stealing" argument. As Allison says, there is much more that goes into a good horse than genetics. Breeding is a lottery, and you're darn lucky if you get exactly what you hoped for.

I've seen a few top show jumpers perform, and watched some grade one races with top contenders, but the only "famous" horses I've ever been close enough to touch were the Budweiser Clydesdales. That was awe inspiring in its own way, too.

Elissa

28 Oct 2013 6:13 PM

Cloning, Hmmmm, why would someone do this?

I wish I could clone my mare, she has wonderful breeding, old lines that can not be replicated today. Would I clone her if I could? Absolutely!

But then, there is the question of the clone parentage and messing up / confusing the breeding books. This is what AQHA has a problem with. AND I understand their objection.

BUT...... if its a clone, the breeding line is the same as the cloned horse. So, kind of like breeding a mare back to the same stallion without the genetic dice being thrown. In a clone, the genes are already determined.

So, could a clone be created by taking cells from an unsuspecting owner's horse? I guess this could happen but then, if the horse registries take control of the registrations of the cloned horses, the clones would be regulated. By refusing, AQHA is missing an opportunity to CONTROL the outcome of what is already happening.

Is cloning stealing? Not unless the cloning happens without the owners permission. BUT, this could happen with stallions and shipped semen or even mares that are boarded out long term. A baby could be produced without the owners full permission.

The question is then, registration. How to register clones. The birthdate would post date the original horse's. Even though the mare and stallion are the same, it would be obvious with the later birthdate, that something was different.

So I guess I don't completely understand how could that mess up the breeding books? Cloning would just re-start a new line off of the original parentage. Keeping registered names different or adding CLONE OF to the beginning would clear things up for registration and buyer purposes.

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